Flexible Funding Program: Strengthening Communities and People
When I was a kid, my parents made it a priority to expose my brother and me to as much of our cultural…
Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent
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Nuestro Futuro Awards $360,000 to 25 Organizations in Chicago Region Focused on Immigration and Early Childhood Initiatives
Nuestro Futuro (“Our Future”), an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust, is the largest affinity fund in the nation dedicated to Latinx philanthropy.…
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Leveraging Community-Based Media to Promote Equitable Homeownership
A Q&A with Lynnette McRae and Lauren Woods Black and Latinx Chicagoans face a myriad of challenges in accessing homeownership. These include a…
“Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment” Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment
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An Early Boost Gives Community Developers a Huge Leg Up
How an innovative Trust grant program helps neighborhood visions for growth become reality The Chicago Community Trust believes all Chicago neighborhoods are assets, each one…
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Moving Equitable Development to the Front of the Bus: ETOD as Policy in Chicago
I like to call myself a product of the public transportation system. My hometown, a mid-size city in the north of Spain, runs a network…
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Selling Distress: How the Tax Foreclosure System Exacerbates Disinvestment in Cook County Communities
Following a comprehensive study of the Scavenger Sale, a national multi-jurisdiction analysis offers communities a roadmap for improvement. Property taxes are the largest source of…
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Searle Funds: A Conversation with Peggy Davis and Angel Gibson
To administer the Searle Collaborative Funds, the Trust works closely with Kinship Foundation—a private operating foundation that advances the institutional philanthropy of the Searle family.…
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Brewing Catalytic Growth in a Far South Side Community
When it comes to helping individuals, families, and communities build wealth, neighborhood investment is a force multiplier. Neighborhood development projects create businesses and jobs, bring…
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Community Development Builds Framework to Close Racial Wealth Gap
This article was originally published in the Chicago Tribune on May 17, 2022. Chicago’s cycle of neighborhood disinvestment may be at a turning point. As…
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Hector Estrada
Hector Estrada (he/his) is the impact coordinator for the Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment strategy at The Chicago Community Trust. Hector is the administrative and process point…
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Chris Eagan
Chris Eagan (he/his) is a program manager for the Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment strategy at The Chicago Community Trust. He oversees real estate development, development finance,…
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Trust Expertise Ensures Donors Make a Difference
As a community foundation, The Chicago Community Trust not only serves our communities’ needs, but also depends upon local philanthropists to work together to meet…
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"Collaborative Fund" is a New Source of Capital for Groups Advancing Neighborhood Investment
In 2020, the Trust’s Catalyzing Neighborhood Investment team launched the Flexible Funding Program. The program supports and builds the capacity of organizations to engage with…
